Loudspeakers - advanced buying guide

Before you make room for some new boxes it's important to look closely at the rest of your system when you think you've isolated a problem. A good many perceived flaws in a loudspeaker's character can be overcome with a healthy dose of amplifier power. Adding watts can transform sound significantly, resulting in increased dynamics, greater control of fast-moving transients, and a vice-like grip of the low end. So be sure to exhaust this possibility before you lay blame on the boxes.

B&W 705

Choosing your next speaker
In terms of presentation, most of us know that speakers are generally speaking either upfront or laid back, with a few exceptional models that skilfully remain close to neutral. These characteristics can certainly be exploited in an attempt to address system imbalance. In matching a loudspeaker to a source and amplifier, consider without bias, the presentation of your electronics and balance it with your choice of box. The best way to do this is with a home audition. The second best method is to take your kit to a dealer and listen your system, with its potential addition, as a whole. The third, least satisfactory, but probably more practical method, is to demo speakers with a shop system and assimilate advice from dealers, the press and friends on matching boxes. As a rudimentary pointer, remember that metal tweeters and drivers predominantly liven up the presentation, while fabric tweeters and paper/polypropylene cones tend to be easier on the ear.

PMC FB1+

If you consider a speaker as a simple piston, then its job is to shift air. Therefore a small diameter driver is going to shift proportionally less air that a large driver, so as listening rooms increase in size, so must either the driver size, or the amount of drivers. Only a very large room however, can accommodate the grandest domestic speakers, which often require plenty of space around the enclosure and lots of room size to allow for the long wave lengths of deep bass.

Getting active
Active speakers - those with their own, on-board amplifiers, are also a consideration, if a less fashionable choice among the hi-fi community at the present time. Key advantages include impressive grip of the lower bass, and the alluring simplicity of a CD/speaker system. Performance is steadily improving and pro/domestic brands such as PMC, Genelec and ATC all have models to tempt even the traditionalist. Our advice - try it, you might like it.

ATC Active 20

2.1 and 2.2
Some of the latest thinking with regards to sound advocates the use of one, or even two subwoofers. As sub technology progresses to include room equalisation methods, it is possible to enjoy the clarity and lower risk of box coloration of the small speaker, while benefiting from the high quality bass output of a dedicated sub. Increasingly it seems, the mass market is heading this way as aesthetics and style drive consumer buying decisions. To the surprise of many, even Brit stalwart Naim was seen demonstrating a 2.1 speaker system at the recent Hi-Fi Show at Heathrow. Some industry experts suggest that using two subwoofers can offer better all-round performance than one, as a pair will cancel room resonances and offer more uniform bass across a number of listening positions. If you're not the type to settle in one listening position, it could be an option worth considering.

Conclusion
When you start to shop around for a new speaker, be realistic about what can and can't be achieved by changing your boxes. As we've already discussed, a change in speaker can bring significant balance change, but if it's an increase in resolution and transparency you're after, you'd do better to concentrate on your electronics. Remember to asses your system as a whole, evaluate the room in which you do your listening, and think hard about what it is you're trying to achieve before you give your current enclosures the heave ho.

Three to try

B&W 705
£900
www.bwspeakers.com
Arguably the market leader at under a grand, the mighty 705 sports some of B&W's most recent proprietary features including Kevlar drivers, a highly efficient bass port and a tapered tweeter. A fine example of great speaker design.

PMC FB1+
£1,625
www.pmcloudspeaker.com
PMC FB1+ £1,625 Pro/home expert PMC has enjoyed spectacular success with its domestic speaker range over the last few years. Its excellent FB1+ floorstander has recently had a new 27mm fabric-dome tweeter fitted, giving a sweet top end that synergises perfectly with its taut, extended bass.

ATC Active 20
£2,538
www.atc.gb.net
It's a lot of cash but you need to hear these speakers before you can fully understand what high resolution is all about. It could be a turning point for your preconceptions…